Thill-tug



(No Mode-1.) l 2 sheetssheet 1.V

- I'. BENOIT.

THILL TUG. No. 340,654; Patented Apr. 27, 1386.

N. PETERS. Phmmlwgmpher, wnshingmn. D. C,

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I'. BENOIT.

THILL TUG.

No. 340,654. Patentedpn 27; 1886.

Meseses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK BENOIT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HULL-Tue.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 340,654, dated April 27, 1886.

Application filed February Q3, 1S84. Serial No. l2l,GTT.

(No model.)

.To aZZ whom it may concern..-

Be 1t known that I, FREDERICK BENOIT,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois7 have invented a new and useful Improvenient in rllhillJIugs, of whichthe following is a specification.

rIhis invention relates to improvements in thill-tags; and it consistsin the novel features hereinafter set forth.

The accompanying drawings show at Figure l a perspective of my improved tug, and Fig. 2 a central vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a side view of the buckle whereby the ends of the tug are secured, and which carries the loop for the back-band depending from the saddle of the harness. Fig. 4 is a section of the same parts on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is the bottom or inside View thereof. Fig. G shows in section the metal piece supported in the tug and from which depends the girth, and in proximity to thispiece is shown the leather cushion,which is heldin it andupon which the thill rests.

Fig. 7 is a central cross-section of the cushion, and Fig. 8 a bottom view of said met-al piece. Fig. 9 is a section showing` a modified construction of the metal piece.

In said drawings, A represents the strap forming the tug, and B the buckle by which it is supported from the saddle. One end of the strap A is passed over the tongue and tonguebar of the buckle B, thence undera cross-bar, o, and secured upon a tongue or pin, c', upon said bar. This bar and pin form part of the buckle C, which embodies also the cross-bars c2, ci, and c and the longitudinal connectingbars c5. The' body of the strap A, from its attachment to the buckle B, just described, passes under bar c2 and over bar e, and thence around, to form the loop of the tug, to the buckle B again, the end thereof being inserted over the tongue of buckle B under bar c, upon pin c, and under bar c2. The longitudinal bars of the buckle C are provided upon the interior thereof and along their straight portions with clamping-ridges c,serv ing as means to secure the loop C', through which the back-band is passed. In Fig. 4 these clamping-ridges are shown in the form in which they are cast, and,being of malleable metal, they are pressed up so as to take rm hold of the edges oi' the loop C, and they may be provided with teeth, as shown,whicl1 will set into the material of the loop. It will benoticed that this buckle C is open upon the inside, and that the cross-bars are solocated as to compel the strap A to project inwardly and beyond the metal parts of the buckle, save the cross-bar c, which 'is at the top of the tug, where contact with the thill is notlikely to occur. By uniting the loop C' with this buckle, as specified, the amount of material required for said loop is lessened from the present mode of construction, it being now customary to continue the ends of the loop until they meet and can be stitched together. Theloop is also secured to the buckle with all requisite firmness without any stitching whatever. In the bottom of the tug, I place a self-adjusting cushion device consistof the metal frame D, made up of longitudinal bars al, cross-bars d', and depending loop d2, and a cushion secured in such metal frame. This cushion consists of a covering-piece,E,of leather, a retaining-piece, E, also of leather, and a iillingpiece, E2, of some soft material. This covering and retaining-piece are stitched together centrally between the ends, as indi cated by dotted lines in Fig. (i, and the upper surface of the retainingpiece is notched ate e, to receive the crossbars of the frame D.

As all the parts of the cushion are flexible, itis sprung into position in the frame D,\vith the [retaining-piece under the cross-bars and the covering over them', as shown in Fig. 2, and the covering extends laterally, so as to lie over the longitudinal or side bars of the frame. From the under loop,d`,is suspended the girth F. The cross-barscl lride upon the interior surface of the strap A, and thus support the frame and girth, while the cushion forms a support for the thill and prevents injury to it by cont-act with the frame. It will be noticed that this cushioned girthsupporting device is free to move inthe tug, to accommodate differently-sized horses and dif crentlyspaced thil1s,and thatit automatically adjusts itself in this regard. The cushion is readily removed, and can be replaced whenever it becomes worn.

In Figs. 2 and 6, the girth-supporting-loop is so constructed as to bring the girth up into bearing'contact with the strap A, so that the TOO cushion thus receives a support directly under its longitudinal center, and this may be desirable Where the cross-bars d are narrow, as in Fig. 6; but said crossbars may be made broad, as in Fig. 9, in which case such central support will not be necessary, and the girthloop may then be larger. If the girth be otherwise supported than from the frame D, then the cross-bar d' may be raised and serve simply the one purpose of supporting the strap and cushion.

The clamping ridge orjaw of thebuckle G, whereby the loop C is secured, may be upon the outsideinstead of the inside, and, indeed, Suchjaws may be used to embrace the loopedge upon both the out and in side.

Other material may besubstituted for leather in the cushion, and instead of a cushion an unyielding substance may be employed at that point.

I claiml. The thill-tug consisting of the strap A, buckles B and C, frame D, and the cushion, all combined substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the tug-strap, of the buckle C, constructed as shown, for holding the ends of the strap, substantial-ly as specied,

3. The thill-tug provided With a niovable cushion serving as a tliillsupport and held upon the interior surface of the tug by frame D, substantially as specified.

4. The frame D, having the cross-bars d, in combination with the thill-support or cushion sprung into said frame, substantially as specified.

5. The combination, with the tug-strap, of the fraine D, having the cross-bars d and the thill-support or cushion secured in said frame, substantially as specified.

6. The cushion having the retainingpicce, in combination with the frame D, having cross-bars d, substantiallyas speciiicd.

7. The thill-support or cushion E and the tug-strap, in combination with the 'frame D, supported upon said strap and provided with a loop or cross-bar, d2, substantially as speciv fied.

S, The combination, with the thill-tug and girth, of a frame, D, movable upon the interior surface ofthe tug and supporting the girth, substantially as specified.

' FREDERICK BENOIT.

Vitnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, TAYLOR E. BROWN. 

